Butterfly
by dark-birdie
Summary: People say that when one dies, the last thing you see is a black butterfly. Why is one still lingering amidstthe dragon castle?
1. Chapter 1

dark-birdie: peophin-chan my friend, THIS IS FOR YOU! Thank you for letting me use your short fic thing-a-ma-bob for a much LONGER fic thing-a-ma-bob! o also half inspired by watching a preview of upcoming movie "flight plan" which I will be SURE to watch and enjoy. If you've seen the preview, you'll see how it ties into the fic.

Fue……I'm starting too many new series at once! Expect ANOTHER new series from me to pop up sometime this week…

I need to work on my OTHER series… "

ANYWHO, for those of you who don't get it, then TOO BAD! Go read peophin-chan's "watermirror"! then you'll get it!

Words in the belong only to Peophin-chan.

Butterfly-

Chapter 1-

Tiny wings unfurled in and out as the muscles of its body sent the small insect soaring through the air.

The black butterfly took off into the day with a somber message in its presence.

_Just let it all end..._

"You know..."

_Just let me go..._

Rune turned toward his friend, curious at the sudden outburst.

_Just let this ocean surround me..._

Thatz continued. "You know, they say... that the last thing you see when you die... is a butterfly."

_Let these waters engulf my head, my thoughts, my memories..._

They both stared ahead in silence for a moment. But presently a thought came over Thatz...

_Just let my mind go free... free me of all this sorrow, all this pain..._

"Where's Rath?"

Both knights stopped and looked at each other for a moment.

Then, simultaneously, they took off running.

_Free me... Just let me finally let go..._

Both ran outside, a natural instinct pulling them towards the lake.

"Rath...!"

_Let these waters cleanse my soul... one last time... before I leave this dirty place..._

A minute later, the two were frantically pulling the fire knight toward shore, trying not to drown as well.

_One last time... before I go..._

"...Rath?"

But though his name was called, Rath did not see them. His eyes floated right past.

"Oh, look..." he murmured. "A butterfly..."

_And then I'm gone…_

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"NO!"

A shout echoed through the deathly-silent room as the girl jolted upright in her bed, hands eerily pale as she clutched tightly to the cloth covering her body. A wave of confusion floated threw her violet eyes as she took in her surroundings. She was in her…room?

'_Argh! Stupid messed up dreams!' _she thought loudly, Ungracefully falling back into her pillows and rolling onto her side. _'But it seemed so real…'_ She could not come up with any reasons why she would be dreaming of the death of the Fire Dragon Knight, which made her more confused than ever.

'But wait…' 

Once again rising from the bed, she quickly slipped out of the sheets and wrapped a warm coat around her. And then, out the door she went, walking as fast and silent as she could.

'_I'm a fortuneteller, I'm supposed to have visions!' _she thought in fear, pulling the coat around her closer, _'That might have really not been a dream, but a vision of him dying!'_

A few more steps and she was there, outside the room of the boy in her dream. The boy whom drove her crazy with thoughts she couldn't categorize as normal in her mind. The boy that annoyed her so much, but in turn was so easy to love.

She blew the doors open.

Literally.

"RATH!"

"…hn?"

The two stared at each other; blood-red eyes staring questioningly into surprised violet ones.

"…well?" The crimson-haired boy asked, making himself sit up in bed. The blankets slid off his rather thin, but firm body frame and revealed a bare chest and plain black pants to cover his bottom half. ((-squeals at the thought of topless Rath- XD)) "Is there some reason as to WHY you're busting into my room at five in the morning?" He asked sarcastically, "Not to mention the fact that you just ruthlessly blew down my door like a poor imitation of the big bad wolf?"

"Ah, well, um…you see…" Her face turned bright red as she saw the boy perfectly fine in his bed with no shirt.

With no shirt… 

"Iyah! Excuse me!" She ran out the door and down the hall, and then a left turn, up the stairs, and back into her room.

'Weird girl…' thought Rath to himself. He looked down at his hands, sadly sighing._ Sorry, Cesia…_

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

'Okay…he's nowhere in site. Now, if I just avoid him for the rest of the day-' 

"Boo."

"AAAAH!" Cesia clutched her pounding heart as the face of the crimson-haired boy appeared upside down in front of her own. She looked up and saw him hanging from the tree branch above her.

"Hello to you, too," he smirked, swinging down from the tree to sit adjacent to the girl. "What's up?"

"Ah, nothing, really…" she mumbled, looking down at her hands. She still couldn't get over the dream from last night. _'Maybe it was a vision of the future?'_

"Rath…you're not…um," she hesitated, thinking of how to correctly word the question.

"Not what?" he asked, gazing distantly at the sky.

"Well…are you happy? Er, with life, I mean," for Dusis' sake, she sounded like a psychiatrist.

He looked down at her, "If you mean right now, yah, I'm happy."

"Are you sure?"

"Yup, 'cause I'm here with you."

"What?" Her gaze left her hands to meet the blood-red eyes of Rath, in turn locking with them.

He scooted closer to the girl, sides touching, and put an arm around her shoulders. "Let's just sit here for a second, okay?"

"Um…okay…" the half witch, puzzled, looked across the darkening sky. ((yes, it's already nighttime, BECAUSE I CONTROL THE TIME!)) _'Why is he being so nice today?'_ she thought, but she had to admit, this did feel nice. "…You SURE you're okay?"

"Yah.." he said, closing his eyes and leaning into her further.

"Lean anymore, and I'm going to fall over!" she said, pushing him slightly with her shoulder. _'Forget nice, this is FUN!'_

The two stayed like that, watching nature's lights dim into the east (or is it west?) and basking in the presence of the other. Unnoticed by Cesia the look of gloom on Rath's face and the black butterfly flittering its wings on his shoulder. She yawned as her eyelids became heavy.

Rath peered down at the demon girl as a smooth rhythm of sleep sounded from her. He lifted his hand to caress her rosy cheeks. Once again, that look of longing and sadness overtook his features. "I'm so stupid…"

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The day was done and over. Cesia slept quietly in her room, unknowing of the presence besides her.

Rath longed to hold her, the girl he loved but had never told. And now it was too late… He put his hand on hers.

And then reality comes crashing down… 

His hand passed right through hers. He felt nothing. No warmth to calm him, no ease to sooth his fears. And for the umpteenth time he whispered those two words, "I'm sorry…"

Rath faced the dark emptiness of the room. "I'm ready…"

For a split second the dark room was enveloped with light, sending a heavenly glow throughout the place, and then it was gone.

"Did you fulfill your wish?"

He looked down at the small girl in front of him. She looked back at him sadly, knowing there was nothing else she could do for him.

"Yes, thank you," he replied, smiling down at the death god graciously, "You let me do what I most wanted."

"I'm afraid that is all I can do," she said, slipping her hand into the side of her kimono and revealing a small glass vile in her fingers. "From now on…you will not remember your past life."

"It's okay…I'm ready to properly die. I shouldn't be here anymore."

Her small fingers uncurled and the glass shattered without a sound, though in the ears of souls, it let out a terrifying, high-pitched scream.

And the boy and death god disappeared, leaving a single, black butterfly in their place.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

dark-birdie: WOW, that took a while… anywho, read and review, don't forget to review! And more actiony stuff will happen in the next chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

Dark-birdie: I just wanted to say that many concepts for shinigamis in the manga Full Moon Wo Sagashite will be in this fic…so yah…enjoy!

Butterfly- Chapter 2

"Nn…" The half witch's eyes slowly opened to be greeted by the first ray of sunlight of the day.

A speck of black drifted across the window.

"Eh?" Cesia grasped the surrounding air around her and captured the black creature drifting in her room. The wind made the object float towards her.

"A black swallow-tailed butterfly? Where did this come from?" Her body froze as a sudden chill went up her spine. "I remember reading…" she pondered for a moment, releasing the insect to fly about the room once again. "The Book of Omens in the witch's house. The black butterfly symbolizes…" Sudden fear welled up in her chest.

Oh, god no.

"…death."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

She ran down the hallway, repeating his name constantly in her mind. 'Rath!'

He had not been in his room. The bed there had been neatly made, but all his belongings had not been present.

She turned the corner and then-

"OW!"

She rubbed her nose at the sudden impact and looked up.

"Rune!"

"Yes?" The blonde half-elf looked rather tired for his normal uptight self. Truthfully, he didn't look as if he had been in the best of conditions. His hair was slightly untidy and his eyes seemed a bit red.

"Have you seen Rath?" she asked frantically, not taking in his awkward appearance.

A look of pain contorted the Water Dragon Knight's face. "What are you…?"

"Rath! I can't find him! I checked his room and everything but-"

Rune grabbed Cesia's shoulders and stared her straight in the eyes. "Cesia, are you alright?"

"Of course I am, why wouldn't I be!" she snapped, annoyed at the fact that her question was being ignored. "Now let me go, I have to find Rath!"

"Cesia!" yelled Rune, shaking the girl, "Stop it! Stop talking about Rath!" He had been trying so hard to forget about it all.

"Why should I! Let go of me!"

"Because he's dead!" Rune let go of the half witch and stared at the floor. Though Cesia could not see his face, she could see the droplets of water dripping down from his eyes.

"What are you…talking about?" she whispered mostly to herself.

"He died two days ago! Don't you remember!" yelled Rune, sobbing, "Suicide, Cesia, he committed suicide!" He had been trying so hard to forget, but he just couldn't throw away the memories. "He…hated us…that much…"

Cesia stared at the broken half-elf in shock. "No…" she muttered, "No, NO! You're lying! Shut up! I was just with him yesterday, he's alive!"

She took off towards the stairs, desperate to find the Fire Dragon Knight.

'_No, it can't be true! I mean, I was just with him!'_

"THATZ!"

The girl violently grabbed the startled Earth Knight, out of breathe, but speaking as loudly as she could. "Where's Rath! You know where he is, right? Tell me! You should've heard Rune, I mean, he said Rath had-"

"-died."

Her eyes focused on the soft green of Thatz's.

"He's dead. He died two days ago," said Thatz, clenching his fist until they turned a sickly white. Cesia had never seen him be so serious. "And you talking about him isn't making the situation any better! Why can't you just accept the fact that he's gone and be quiet!"

"SHUT UP! HE'S NOT DEAD! AND STOP IT!" she screamed, covering her ears, "If this is some sick interpretation of a joke, stop it right now! He's not dead. HE'S NOT DEAD!"

Thatz grabbed Cesia's arms and continued to yell further. "Why can't you just accept the truth! If you continue on talking about Rath, you're going to drive everyone crazy! Hell! Maybe someone else will kill themselves!"

"GO AWAY!" she yelled, running away from the sober knight. _'The Dragon Lord! He must know that Rath's alive! He can tell, I mean, he's the Dragon Lord!' _She headed for the Lord's office, refusing to believe the two knights' words.

"My Lord!" she shouted, bursting the door to his grand office open, using her wind to help.

The Lord of the Dragons looked up from his pile of papers, which he was furiously signing away at, though with a little less energy than usual. "Yes?" he asked, golden eyes slightly dulled.

"Tell me, where's Rath!" she asked, not too politely.

Lord Lykouleon looked up from his work. "I'd expect him to be resting in peace…" he joked, unjokingly. "You…DID know that, did you not?"

"No, but-" The Dragon Lord, too. Why was everyone saying Rath was dead?

"But, my Lord, I was with him all of yesterday!" She argued, not wanting to believe what she had heard. "Please, I mean he MUST be alive!"

The golden-haired man formed a hand bridge with his fingers and sighed. "He isn't. I'd expect you to know that of all people," he thought for a while, "Although you weren't exactly present when the incident happened or during the funeral, but we had all expected you to be mourning in your room by yourself." He said, finishing his statements darkly. "You…didn't know? For two whole days, nonetheless."

No, she hadn't known.

He had been dead for two days…but she had been with him yesterday.

It couldn't have been a dream. It was too real. And plus, the note that she hadn't seen either the knights or any other of the dragons in the past two days was a concrete fact.

"Maybe you should get some rest," said the Dragon Lord, interrupting the half-witch's train of thought, "The events in the past couple of days have worn all of us out. Even Alfeegi. Did you know he's outside looking for someone to scold in Rath's place? It's very amusing to watch, actually." Said Lykouleon, trying to lighten the mood. "I saw him this morn-"

"Where is he buried?"

Lykouleon was startled at the question. "I beg your pardon?"

"Where is he buried? Rath! Where did you bury him!" asked Cesia, her voice gaining volume.

"Um…outside in the Queen's rose garden. Center court, near the fountain," he replied, hesitating before giving the information. "But why do you-"

"Okay, thank you! Bye!"

And the girl left through the giant double doors.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"He's dead…" murmured Cesia to herself, staring lifelessly at the stone tablet with the boy's name cruelly etched into it. "He…He's really dead." She kneeled on the dirt ground, amidst the beautiful flowers laid out for the deceased knight. "He's gone, never going to come back, never going to say words like yesterday's ever again!"

No matter how many spells she cast, they all told her that it was indeed Rath's body beneath the soil.

He was dead.

He had committed suicide.

He had, indeed, hated his life that much.

"No…"

The petals of the mourning flowers were watered with a light shower of tears.

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dark-birdie: writing this is making me sad… TT poor Cesia, I do hurt you so… REVIEW PEOPLE!


	3. Chapter 3

Dark-birdie: this…this fic is so sad…I do not mean for it to be sad… TT wah! Stop being so sad!

Chapter…whatever chapter I'm on…

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Miss Cesia, please, open the door!"

"Cesia, we're worried about you, come out!"

"Cesia!"

The gathering crowd outside of the fortuneteller's room was growing. The girl had not once stepped out from her room for three days. Of course, her room was well prepared for long lock-ins, what with plenty of food there for her always and an excellent bathroom.

Ruwalk sighed. "It's no use, that girl won't budge!" he whined, resting an arm on the door. "Feeg, what are we gonna do?"

The shouts and complaints of a certain angry, sequoia-haired white dragon officer were muted through the well-made oak-wood doors, solidified more with the help of a sound-blocking wind spell. Cesia sat at her bed, books spread about everywhere and pieces of torn paper on the blanket and the floor.

"I found it…" she whispered to herself. The glint in her eyes gave her an enigmatic, mysterious look. She touched the pages of a book, ancient writing scribbled across the paper. "Rath…"

-0-0-0-0-0-

It was something to celebrate. Everyone stared in surprise and awe as the demon witch walk down the hallways. The fortuneteller had seemed not to notice how long she had been absent from the daily life of the Dragon Castle, and walked throughout the corridor without a worry.

"Oh! Cesia!"

"Good morning, my Lord," answered Cesia automatically, giving a bow to the Dragon Lord.

"Are you feeling better?" Lykouleon was puzzled that the girl seemed unaware of her absence.

"Better from what? I wasn't sick, was I?" she asked half jokingly.

"Well, no…" he turned to a different subject, "By the way, I was wondering, Raseleane was looking for a type of cloth, let's see, it was-"

"Draconian silk?"

"That was it," Lykouleon smiled, pleased that he had accomplished his mission for his queen, "Do you have some?"

Cesia returned the smile, "Go to my room, in the closet. I have a supply of it there." She started down the hallway again, "I have to go though, I'll see you later, your majesty."

They waved a good-bye to one another and headed off in their own separate directions.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"E-to…closet…closet…closet!" Upon entering his fortuneteller's room, Lykouleon scanned the bedroom for the closet, found it, and continued on to opening its genuinely crafted doors. He, oblivious to the ruckus outside as everyone noticed Cesia out of room, smiled like a cute neko-chan as he bundled up the cloth in his arms. His queen would be happy! Thoughts of being smothered with hugs and kisses made his grin widen further.

He proceeded to leaving the room, had not something caught his attention. The corner of a book was sticking out from beneath the large, queen-sized bed.

'What's this?' he thought to himself, lifting up the lacy trimming around the blanket.

After a few minutes of digging underneath the bed, a pile of dusty books and papers was compiled in front of him. 'What _is _that girl reading so much about?' he inquired, selecting an age-ridden book from the pile. The pages were so thing and worn that he could see the outline of his fingers through the page. His eyes widened as he realized just what the demon girl had been studying.

The Dragon Lord flung the book aside and glanced at the covers of the rest. Pictures of the macabre, skeletons, alchemic designs were plastered on the fronts of all the text. One had a shining red leaflet sticking out from its pages. He hastily picked this one up from the floor and opened it to the bookmarked page. The spell recited itself over and over again in his head.

It was a spell for resurrecting the dead.

Renovo Mortuus Caelestis Mortis 

_Exaudio meus placitum_

_Recro ea corpus denuo_

_Tunc tribuo spiritus_

_Rursus, inquam voluntas tribuo…_

And the Dragon Lord could read no further. The book was so old that he could not make out what the words said. On the bottom left corner of the page was the drawing of a large circle. Multiple symbols were encircling the edges of it, along with an explicit design curving this way and that in its center.

Now, Lykouleon didn't know much about the Latin language, but he knew nothing good could come out of the ancient spell. He didn't even know what the end of it was because of the frailty of the book.

But nonetheless, he knew Cesia was going to try it.

And he had to stop her before she did.

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"Cesia?" Ruwalk stared as the girl walked bluntly out from the entrance of the Dragon Castle.

She looked at him and smiled. "Oh, good morning Ruwalk!" she said happily, going on her merry way to her unknown destination.

Startled by her hello exclamation, he answered in surprise, "Uh, where are you going?"

"To visit Rath's grave."

"Oh…okay." He had an eerie feeling crawling up his spine. "Have a good time."

"You too!" she called back, waving a good bye and disappearing beyond his vision.

"Strange girl…" mumbled Ruwalk to himself, not giving it another thought.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Ruwalk!"

"Oh, Lykouleon! What's up?" asked the Yellow Dragon Officer to his childhood friend.

Lykouleon panted to regain his breath. "Have…have you seen…Cesia?" he said, finally retaining enough air to talk.

"She just came by here a little while ago," replied Ruwalk, laying his sword on the ground. He had been practicing his swordsmanship when both intruders had been passing through, "She went to visit Rath's grave."

"For Dusis'- DAMN!" he swore, gathering his speed and running off again.

"Hey- wait!" shouted Ruwalk after the Dragon Lord. Why wasn't anyone telling him anything today?

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Cesia!"

"Oh, hello your highness," said the girl, turning around and smiling at the Dragon Lord. "Are you here to visit Rath, too?"

"Cesia, don't try to fool me!" Lykouleon stared her sternly in the eyes. "I read what you've been studying in your room all this time."

"What are-"

"Cesia, you can't bring him back!" he yelled, "It's forbidden! A taboo of the universe! Once someone's dead, they stay dead!"

She kept her calm demeanor. "I have no intention of bringing him back." She said coldly. Never had she been rude with the Dragon Lord. "And even if I did, you're threat wouldn't stop me. Now if you will excuse me." The demon girl left the gravesite without any further conversation, leaving Lykouleon dazed. Her stare had shot icicles throughout his body. What was going on?

-0-0-0-0-0-0

Cesia smirked as she thought of her accomplishment.

The Dragon Lord had been too late. She had already covered up all traces of her deed.

She pulled the large, glass vile from the dimensional portal in the air.

In it, were Rath's ashes.

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dark-birdie: sorry for the horrible attempt at Latin back there. I have no clue how to speak Latin, I just wanted to use the language. And so, I just found a Latin dictionary online and did the best I could, please don't flame me about it.

Ps: I think this story is getting a little too gothic for me xX but don't worry, I will continue to write it

DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!


	4. Chapter 4

Dark-birdie: I have to work more on my fics… -- but..my finals at school are right now, so I MUST STUDY…

Butterfly-

Chapter Four

Reema rushed from here to there, picking up various types of phones and shuffling through a pile of post-its and forms. Her long, pink and black hair swayed this way and that as she attempted to pick up three phones at once while writing a memo with the pen in her mouth.

"Hey…little onii-chan…" said a voice from behind her, sounding bored.

"Yes, yes, WHAT?" she asked, spitting out the pen and hanging up one of the phones. "I'm very sorry Lan, but with the war in Deresius going on right now, I've got so many deaths to attend to!"

Rath stared at the parchment that had appeared in front of him in a whiff of black smoke. The color matched him greatly, seeing as he was dressed in an outfit of complete black, with the exception of his inner shirt covered by a black cloak. He responded to the name given to him; Lan, because that is what his name was. That's what the society told him, at least. Know one knew what their real name was, they weren't supposed to know. He scanned the paper unemotionally. "I have another assignment," he mumbled, getting up from his seat. "Are you going to come with me?"

Reema huffed and stared up at the new death god, being a long ways shorter than him but oddly a deal older, "I'm very busy with my own deaths! I'll join you later since you're still a beginner, but for now, go on your own."

His features didn't flinch, "But onii-chan, the paper-"

"Lan! I'm sorry, just go, okay? You're not doing too well with the assignments, so just try not to screw things up, okay? Now, GO!"

"But-"

Reema twirled her fingers, and the boy disappeared from her sight in a puff of dark, ebony smoke.

Rath sighed as he was transported to a different location. "But onii-chan, there's no name on it, just the location…" He unfolded the parchment in his hands and read it once again:

From: Chief Advisor of New Shinigamis-in-training Counsel, Duma Rasael To: Shinigami #13 Lan 

_Assignment: Upcoming death. Dragon Castle- located in the capital of Dusis, sometime during the next week._

_Ps: PLEASE DON'T SCREW THIS ONE UP RATH! I'M STILL TRYING TO FIX UP THE LAST ONE! Oh dear god, you should see this mess I have to clean up. I can't believe you mistook the client for another person! PLEASE DON'T SCREW THIS UP, OKAY! –Duma_

"I didn't mean to screw it up…" said Rath monotonously. "The man wanted to die, why not let him?" He read the location aloud, "Dragon Castle, huh? Wonder who."

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Cesia hummed to herself quietly. The Dragon Lord knew she was still studying the works of the macabre, but didn't have any proof whatsoever, so kept silent. Alfeegi, Ruwalk, and the other inhabitants of the Dragon Castle could see something was wrong, though, but had no clue why.

'All I have to do is wait for the next full moon, and the preparations will be set…' thought Cesia to herself; flipping through the pages of her book just to make sure she had all the necessary materials. 'I'll make this work even if it kills me…'

She had no idea how much truth that sentence held.

The next full moon would be sometime next week.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Kai-Stern sighed as he looked down at the cold grave. After the boy's death he had purposely made himself go on a "Governmental trip" for a few days, wanting to avoid the castle, but had now come back. He lit the end of a cigarette and brought it to his lips, inhaled, then exhaled a whisp of smoke. "For Dusis' sake, ol' pal. It's nothing without you here…" he mumbled, sighing again. "I hope you know we miss you."

Rath stared down at the white-haired man, clueless of his past life. "Miss who? Who does this person miss?" he asked to absolutely no one. He was getting quite used to talking to himself nowadays, what with only Reema and occasionally Duma to talk to in the office. The human world made him wonder about many things, especially their constant change in emotions. He, being so unemotional, just didn't get the point of feelings. As for whom the stranger missed, he wouldn't know. He didn't both looking at the gravestone because either way, he couldn't read. So he satisfied himself by just staring at the man while floating upside down in the air, using his jet black, small, feathery wings to stay afloat.

"Rath…"

The death god crashed onto the ground, his wings had suddenly stopped working. His heart was pounding unceasingly and his head equally so. "Ow, what the hell?" he mumbled crossly, getting up from the ground. "For chris'sake," he muttered, crossing his arms. This assignment wasn't going too well.

He decided to wander around the Dragon Castle a bit, to see if there was any clue as to who this death belonged to. His wanderings brought him to an open window, leading to a rather dark and dreary room. It was empty, lifeless, and very…black.

"What's wrong with this room?" mumbled Rath to himself, looking around. It was so very dead, maybe even more so than himself, which was ironic. He twitched slightly as the room began to grow on his nerves. Something about it made shivers go down his spine. "I'm getting out of here," he said, preparing to leave via window again.

But, before he could do so, he heard the door behind him being opened. On pure instinct, he flew behind the windowsill and peered over it, to see who was coming in without being seen himself, which made obviously no sense to him, seeing as no one could see him, but he did so anyways.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Cesia walked un-noticed into the room. She closed the door gently behind her and looked around, making sure it was completely empty. Then, using her finger to cut a hole in the air, the half-demon took out everything she would need; her Book of the Macabre, the vile which contained the ashes of her deceased beloved, and a few other little supplies. "No one would ever come here," she said to herself, placing her materials on the floor, "This is the best place to work in…"

As an extra safety precaution, she placed a sealing spell on the door and cloaked it with a memory spell, causing whoever to come near the room to suddenly remember something important and run off. (sorry, had to steal a bit of Harry Potter there)

She picked up the book and laid out a long and wide roll of parchment, about the size of the bed. Taking four needles, she pinned the corners of the parchment to the floor. She grabbed a pointed paintbrush and dipped it into a thick block of black ink, and then she traced a large, round circle onto the browning paper.

-0-0-0-0-

Rath flew curiously towards the parchment and the girl. What was she doing? He watched intently as she drew odd lines and curves on the circle. The girl gave a nod of approval as she stood back to examine her work, and then took the vile from the floor. She twisted the knob off and spelt the whitened ashes right into the center of the circle. He sat on the floor, watching as she picked up the book once again and started reciting strange words.

The words seemed to linger in the room. They gave him chills, though he wasn't supposed to be able to feel cold, and the room grew dark.

"Caelestis Mortis 

_Exaudio meus placitum_

_Recro ea corpus denuo_

_Tunc tribuo spiritus_

_Rursus, inquam voluntas tribuo…"_

She finished her words, looking brightly around at the darkening room. She was awfully happy for a girl in the middle of oncoming thick, black mist.

The mist lingered and began to swirl, casting its waves into every corner of the room. The room itself now looked as if it were repainted horribly. Everything was black or white. Outlines of the bed and bureau were sketched as if from a white pencil. Even the girl, though human, looked like a white drawing on a black canvas.

Rath watched as the scene became frozen. Nothing moved except him and the black smoke. He tried to shout as the misty tentacles wrapped themselves around him, enveloping him in darkness, but no sound came. The smoke entered his eyes a mouth and in the split second of darkness, the most horrible sounds engulfed his hearing.

Then, the noise stopped, and he was free. No more smoke, mist, or black-and-white sketchiness. Although, for some odd reason, he had been moved from next to the girl, to the center of the circle drawn on the parchment.

Another addition to this obvious realization was that the girl, whom he had been watching, was now looking straight at him. Rath looked behind him, to see if anyone or anything of particular interest was there, but after spotting nothing, he looked back at the girl, who continued to look back at him.

"What?" he finally asked, deducing that the object she was staring at was himself.

"You…you are…" She began to shake as she brought her hands up to her face, trying desperately to explain to herself why she felt a sudden chill. There was something important to say, she knew it. What was it? What was important?

_Nothing._

"…who are you?"

0-0-0-0-0-0-

dark-birdie: gee, I'm really sorry folks that that took so dang loooooooooong…. "-- don't blame me, blame my hell days. My hell days consist of: 1. wake up at six, walk to school early for band 2. school, duh. 3. after school, badminton practice 'til six (pm). 4. after badminton, walk home, make dinner, eat it. 5, go to taekwondo til 8:30. 6. go home, do homework, die/sleep

I am going to diiiiiiiiiiiiieeee one day


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